coterie

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *kutąder. Old English cotbor. Medieval Latin coteriabor. French coteriebor. English coterie Borrowed from French coterie.

1. A circle of individuals who associate with one another for a common purpose.

   “The new junior employee joined our merry after-hours coterie.”

   “A tightly knit coterie of executive powerbrokers made all the real decisions in the company.”

2. A communal burrow of prairie dogs.

   “The coterie was located in the middle of our wheat field.”

   “The population of each coterie constantly changes over a period of a few months or years, by death, birth, and emigration. But the coterie boundary remains about the same, being learned by each prairie dog born into it.”